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Girl Talk, Ted Leo, Enon, Blitzen Win Taco Bell Contest
Just pretend that's a taco, okay?

Photo by Jason Bergman

Girl Talk's Gregg Gillis: Playgirl model extraordinaire, the talk of Congress, the scourge of jam bands, and now, Taco Bell "Feed the Beat" contest champion of the world!!

Along with 49 other musical acts, Gillis walked away with a victory in the recent contest, which invited touring musicians to describe why they quiero Taco Bell foodstuffs. His prize? $500 worth of said foodstuffs. If you find a little salsa in Gillis' beard next time he stage dives on top of you, well, now you know why.

Other victors in the Fourthmeal mecca's competition include Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Enon, Blitzen Trapper, White Rabbits, Panthers, Meg & Dia, and Manchester Orchestra. Bon appétit, guys.

Oh, and speaking of Girl Talk: our boy Gregg has contributed a rare track to a special four-song sampler the folks at his label, Illegal Art, have kindly made available for download (snatch it here). The apostrophe-free jam, "Lets Run This", originally appeared on a now out-of-print Australian compilation titled Ministry of Shit. If the words "free Girl Talk mp3" aren't enough to get your mouse finger click-happy, do yourself a favor and ruminate on this here tracklist. [MORE...]

Video: That Godforsaken Taco Bell Commercial With the Dog: (No, Really)

Posted by Matthew Solarski in award on Thu: 10-11-07: 02:00 PM CDT | Digg this article | Add to del.icio.us | Permalink

Rock Hall Noms: Madonna, Beasties, Cohen, Summer
Plus: John Mellencamp, Afrika Bambaataa, Chic, Dave Clark Five, the Ventures

The Roll and Roll Hall of Fame today announced the finalists in its annual ~~beauty~~rock pageant, with nine of music's finest vying for five imaginary tiaras and five very real invitations into the hallowed pantheon next year.

Madonna, the Beastie Boys, Leonard Cohen, Donna Summer, Afrika Bambaataa, John Mellencamp, Chic, the Dave Clark Five, and the Ventures all lead the Class of 2008. To be eligible for induction, an act must have released its first single at least 25 years ago.

From these nine, the lucky five will be chosen by what the Rock Hall site calls an "international voting body of more than 500 rock experts," and immortalized at a March 10, 2008 ceremony at New York City's Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

The chosen will join last year's inductees-- R.E.M., Patti Smith, the Ronettes, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and Van Halen-- and, like, Elvis and stuff in the Cleveland edifice and in our hearts forever.

God knows why, but Tom Waits, T. Rex, Roxy Music, Abba, Kraftwerk, and the Stooges aren't in there yet.

Posted by Matthew Solarski in award on Fri: 09-28-07: 02:00 PM CDT | Digg this article | Add to del.icio.us | Permalink

Polaris Prize Goes to Arcad-- WTF? Patrick Watson?!
We're as suprised as you are

The votes are in, and the winner of this year's Polaris Music Prize-- along with $20,000 big ones and the respect and adulation of his Canadian countrypeople-- is...um... Patrick Watson's album Close to Paradise. Yeah.

Paradise beat Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, Feist's The Reminder, The Besnard Lakes' The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse, Junior Boys' So This Is Goodbye, Julie Doiron's Woke Myself Up, Chad VanGaalen's Skelliconnection, Miracle Fortress' Five Roses, The Dears' Gang of Losers, and Joel Plaskett Emergency's Ashtray Rock to claim the title of "BEST CANADIAN MUSIC OF 2007 EVER." Guess Canadians like this guy?

Mr. Watson follows in the fleet footsteps of Mr. Owen Pallett, whose He Poos Clouds record under the Final Fantasy guise took the top honor last year.

Posted by Paul Thompson and Amy Phillips in award on Mon: 09-24-07: 10:46 PM CDT | Digg this article | Add to del.icio.us | Permalink

Klaxons Win 2007 Nationwide Mercury Prize

And the winner of this year's Nationwide Mercury Prize is... Klaxons' Myths of the Near Future!

Well, okay! Besting the likes of Arctic Monkeys' Favourite Worst Nightmare, Bat for Lashes' Fur and Gold, New Young Pony Club's Fantastic Playroom, Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, Dizzee Rascal's Maths + English, and a bunch of stuff only British people like, Klaxons have taken the coveted honor for this year. Last year's winner was Arctic Monkeys' Whatever People Say I Am, That's Why I'm Not-- alas, they did not go two-for-two.

The accolade-- along with the 20,000 pound prize-- were doled out in a ceremony this evening.

Posted by Paul Thompson in award on Tue: 09-04-07: 04:24 PM CDT | Digg this article | Add to del.icio.us | Permalink

Arctics, Klaxons, Dizzee Make Mercury Shortlist

The Nationwide Mercury Prize, the annual artistic back-pat and big-time cashout bestowed upon the finest British or Irish album of the previous year (and sometimes, just for kicks, the top album by some guy who lived in the UK once), has announced its shortlist of nominees for the 2007 accolade. There's some good stuff, some great stuff, and-- perhaps inevitably-- some Winehouse. Here, in all their alphabetically-ordered glory, they are:

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
Basquiat Strings (with Seb Rochford) - Basquiat Strings
Bat For Lashes - Fur and Gold
Dizzee Rascal - Maths + English
Jamie T - Panic Prevention
Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
Maps - We Can Create
New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom
Fionn Regan - The End of History
The View - Hats Off to the Buskers
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
The Young Knives - Voices of Animals and Men

Poor Lily Allen!

Right, then. Eight of the twelve nominees enter the running with debut albums; an impressive feat considering the proclivity of our own Grammys towards age and experience (and, often, boredom). Even the oldest amongst the young folks may again have their day: the barely-legal Dizzee won in 2003 for Boy in Da Corner, and the Monkeys would be pulling a Tom Hanks should they win for Favourite, having taken the prize last year for their mouthful of a debut.

The winner will be presented with £20,000 (about 40 Gs American) in a ceremony September 4 at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.

Video: Various Artists: 2006 Mercury Prize ceremony performances

Posted by Paul Thompson in award on Tue: 07-17-07: 10:30 AM CDT | Digg this article | Add to del.icio.us | Permalink

Arcade Fire, Feist, Junior Boys Up for Polaris Prize
Plus: Besnard Lakes, Dears, Julie Doiron, Miracle Fortress, Chad VanGaalen

The nominees for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize-- awarded annually to the best Canadian album of the year "judged solely on artistic merit" by nearly two hundred Canadian journalists-- were announced today, and, despite completely snubbing Barenaked Ladies Are Men, the ten nominees don't veer too far from your expectations.

Arcade Fire, Feist, Junior Boys, and the Besnard Lakes all made the cut, as did Miracle Fortress, the Dears, Julie Doiron, and Chad VanGaalen. Here, just look:

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse
The Dears - Gang of Losers
Julie Doiron - Woke Myself Up
Feist - The Reminder
Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye
Miracle Fortress - Five Roses
Joel Plaskett Emergency - Ashtray Rock
Chan VanGaalen - Skelliconnection
Patrick Watson - Close to Paradise

Good stuff, for the most part. The winner-- who'll follow in the dainty, doo-doo splattered footsteps of last year's winner, Final Fantasy's He Poos Clouds-- will receive $20,000 for the honor. The big announcement will be made September 24.

Posted by Paul Thompson in award on Tue: 07-10-07: 12:50 PM CDT | Digg this article | Add to del.icio.us | Permalink

Cat Power Wins Shortlist Prize

Out of a list that also included Band of Horses, Tom Waits, Beirut, Hot Chip, Joanna Newsom, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Girl Talk, Regina Spektor, and Spank Rock, Cat Power has emerged victorious as the winner of the 2006 Shortlist Music Prize for her album The Greatest. This makes Ms. Marshall (who was also nominated for the 2003 Shortlist Prize for You Are Free) the first woman to win the award.

A panel that included the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Sufjan Stevens, the Flaming Lips, and, um, Panic! at the Disco did the deciding for this year's prize, and in addition to the prize, Cat Power also received the dubious honor of a glowing review from KT Tunstall, another panelist. Tunstall called The Greatest "an immediate classic that will never age," which makes it sort of like Oil of Olay for your ears.

As part of a Shortlist digital promotion with the iTunes store, The Greatest is now available there with an exclusive extra track titled "Up and Gone".

Video: Cat Power: Various Tracks [from The Greatest LP]

Posted by Dave Maher in award on Tue: 06-12-07: 10:22 AM CDT | Digg this article | Add to del.icio.us | Permalink

Newsom, Cat Power, Waits, Bonnie, BoH Make Shortlist
Suck on that, Hush Sound!

The sixth annual Shortlist Music Prize-- awarded to artists whose small commercial ripples belie their wake-making creative waves-- has culled ten finalists from 61 of 2006's finest. From these, judges like Franz Ferdinand, Panic! at the Disco, and Wayne Coyne whittle it down to a winner next month, who'll pocket some dough and the knowledge that, nearly a year ago, they released an album both Sufjan Stevens and KT Tunstall can agree upon.

Here are the ten nod-getters:

Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Letting Go
Cat Power - The Greatest
Girl Talk - Night Ripper
Hot Chip - The Warning
Joanna Newsom - Ys
Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
Spank Rock - YoYoYoYoYo
Tom Waits - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards

Wait; this means Panic! at the Disco's been jamming to Will Oldham, doesn't it? Soak up what you can, chaps.

Posted by Paul Thompson in award on Fri: 04-27-07: 05:15 PM CDT | Digg this article | Add to del.icio.us | Permalink

Ornette Coleman Wins Pulitzer Prize
John Coltrane receives Special Citation

The winners of the Pulitzer Prize were announced yesterday, and among the ranks of journalists, authors, and critics are two jazz giants.

Free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman won the Music Pulitzer for his most recent full-length, last year's Sound Grammar, and John Coltrane (maybe you've heard of him?) was awarded a Pulitzer Special Citation "for his masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship, and iconic centrality to the history of jazz," according to the Pulitzer website. Fahrenheit 451 author Ray Bradbury was the other Special Citation recipient.

We're still waiting for Coleman's foray into investigative reporting. Then it's really on.

Coleman also has a couple handfuls of mostly TBA dates this summer, but his appearances at Bonnaroo, London's Royal Festival Hall, and the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam are all confirmed. [MORE...]

Stream: Ornette Coleman: Turnaround [from the Sound Grammar LP]

Posted by Dave Maher in award on Tue: 04-17-07: 09:00 AM CDT | Digg this article | Add to del.icio.us | Permalink

Jenny Lewis Wins L.A. "Pioneer Woman" Honor

Photos by Los Angeles 13th City Council District

For blazing a trail across indie America's heart, Rilo Kiley frontlady/solo singer Jenny Lewis has been named a "Pioneer Woman" by the Los Angeles City Council.

Okay, so maybe it was actually for "contributions to popular music [that] have left their mark on her neighborhood, her genre, and her time" and helping "place the Silver Lake and Echo Park musical scenes on the leading edge of 21st-century song," as board president Eric Garcetti put it. The leading edge of 21st-century song, eh?

Lewis received the Pioneer Woman award-- given out annually in conjunction with National Women's History Month, and meant to honor "outstanding community service and accomplishments...that continue to expand opportunities for generations to come"-- from Garcetti during a ceremony last Friday, March 30.

Ever humble, Lewis had this to say: "It is an honor to be recognized in the company of all the women gathered here whose accomplishments far outstrip my own. These women are actually affecting the community in a tangible way while I'm just up there singing about it." Oh, stop!

Since releasing and touring behind her disc with the Watson Twins, Rabbit Fur Coat, last year, Lewis has kept a fairly low profile. Her community-servicing voice graces Dntel's forthcoming Sub Pop LP Dumb Luck, while Rilo Kiley have been hard at work on the follow-up to 2004's More Adventurous.

Stream: Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins: Various Tracks

Posted by Matthew Solarski in award on Thu: 04-05-07: 03:46 PM CDT | Digg this article | Add to del.icio.us | Permalink

Modest Mouse Crash Charts With No. 1 Debut
LCD Soundsystem clock in at 46

Hey, remember when Modest Mouse was just that little angry band on college radio? Well, now they're that big angry band perched atop the Billboard 200.

This past week, Isaac Brock's outfit moved a not-so-modest 129,000 units of its fifth full-length proper, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, according to Billboard.com-- enough to best Joss Stone and some "American Idol" pan-flasher for the chart crown. This debut trumps that of 2004 LP Good News for People Who Love Bad News as well, which opened at 19 with paltry sales of 68,000.

Modest Mouse's no. 1 of course dashes James Murphy's hopes of copping the top spot. LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver narrowly missed the Top 40 in its first week, landing at a respectable 46. That's still cause to crack open the bubbly, as it marks LCD's first Billboard 200 appearance.

The much-discussed decline in album sales-- and, perhaps, a slight de-homogenization of listeners' tastes-- has worked wonders for indie-label-signed and indie-sounding bands hoping for chart placement: both the Shins (Sub Pop) and Arcade Fire (Merge) scored impressive number two first-week debuts. Your next mission, indie-ites? Help the next Wolf Eyes LP go platinum.

Anyhow, give Isaac and (good luck charm?) Johnny Marr a hearty pat on the back as they hit the road next month. [MORE...]

Video: Modest Mouse: Dashboard [from the We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank LP]

Posted by Matthew Solarski in award, misc on Wed: 03-28-07: 11:00 AM CDT | Digg this article | Add to del.icio.us | Permalink

Arcade Fire's Neon Bible Debuts at #2

The Arcade Fire's second album, Neon Bible, claimed the No. 2 spot on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts this week, stomping all over new LPs from Daughtry, Relient K and Robin Thicke. According to Billboard, the album sold 92,000 copies this week; only Notorious B.I.G.'s Greatest Hits sold more. That album, which was released ten years after the rapper's death, sold 99,000 copies. This position is miles ahead of Funeral's chart ranking, which peaked at #131. The album also topped the Independent and Rock Album charts. Neon Bible also took #2 in the UK, coming in second to the Kaiser Chiefs' Yours Truly, Angry Mob.

Posted by Jessica Suarez in award on Wed: 03-14-07: 11:40 AM CDT | Digg this article | Add to del.icio.us | Permalink

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Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)

Wed: 10-10-07: 12:30 PM CDT
Nirvana's Unplugged Gets DVD Release